This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

A week before the biggest fight of his career, Simon “Bad Bwoy” Marcus stalks around the ring at Siam No. 1 House of Muay Thai in North York, throwing blows with power and precision.

Left kick. Right Cross. Left knee.

His coach, Ajahn Suchart Yodkerepaupri, absorbs each shot with thick pads on his forearms and torso. The sound echoes off the gym’s walls. He urges the 28-year-old Marcus to throw harder and sharper.

Marcus, a world champion in Thai style kickboxing, shuffles forward, grunts and repeats the sequence.

Left kick. Right Cross. Left knee.

Article Continued Below

Friday in San Diego Marcus faces Russia’s Artem Levin in a world championship bout in GLORY World Series, an upstart promotion that hopes to make kick-boxing a major league sport. But it’s not just a title shot for Marcus.

Simon Marcus, works out last week in North York as he prepares for his world title fight in the GLORY World Series. (David Cooper / Toronto Star file photo)

It’s a chance to prove he can transition from traditional muay thai to the streamlined kickboxing rules GLORY employs. And Marcus, a light-heavyweight who has won five other world titles, thinks a win can help make him a crossover star with the profile to launch projects like apparel lines.

“My goal is to maximize my popularity within kickboxing and make the sport as popular as possible,” says Marcus, who competes at 187 pounds. “I’m going to market myself while I can but mainly it’s about living my dream, which is fighting.”

Popularity isn’t a problem in Thailand, where Marcus began his pro career. Muay thai, a martial art using punches, kicks and clinches along with elbow and knee strikes, is a mainstream sport there, its champions as well-known as hockey players are here. In 2010 Marcus spent eight months training alongside Buakaw Banchamek, the sport’s top performer and best-known ambassador.

“I needed to go somewhere where I was surrounded by fighters who were serious,” Marcus says. “It catapulted me in terms of recognition because I had a lot of fights during that time.”

But it didn’t help Marcus gain traction in Toronto, where muay thai and other forms of kickboxing remain niche sports.

Simon Marcus works out with his Ajahn (in the Thai language the term translates as "teacher") Suchart Yodkerepauprai in the gym as he prepares for his world title fight. (David Cooper/Toronto Star)

GLORY hopes to broaden the sport’s appeal by tweaking rules to emphasize action. They limit clinches, place a premium on high-impact punches and kicks, and outlaw elbow strikes to lower the risk of serious cuts.

And its business strategy depends heavily on fighters like Marcus, who have track records of success, and who can help GLORY reach new markets.

“We need to make sure we have athletes who cut through the clutter and transcend the sport,” says board member Ivan Farneti. “Simon knows muay thai and everyone in muay thai knows who he is.”

But fights under muay thai and GLORY rules aren’t legal in Ontario, though the promoter is working with the provincial athletic commission to regulate the sport. Local fighters say the situation limits their popularity and long-term earning power.

“I have a bigger following in other parts of the world than I do here because people haven’t had a chance to see us live,” says Joe Valtellini, a Scarborough fighter who holds GLORY’s 170-pound title. “Kickboxing isn’t as big as the UFC and that hurts our sponsorship potential.”

Half an hour into their session Marcus and Yodkerepaupri circle each other, neither breathing heavily despite the workload, both slick with sweat in a stuffy gym.

Yodkerepaupri pauses to raise his target mitts and Marcus lets fly with full power.

Fifty punches. Thirty knee strikes.

Marcus and Levin fought a muay thai match in March 2013, with Marcus winning by decision. But Friday’s winning Friday means a smooth shift from traditional muay thai to modern kickboxing.

Simon Marcus is a celebrity in Thailand, where Muay Thai kickboxing is a mainstream sport, but next to anonymous at home, where the martial art remains illegal at the professional level. (David Cooper/Toronto Star)

That night Marcus avoided punches that clipped him in previous fights, while landing his own sharp shots. Yodkerepaupri says Friday will further demonstrate how Marcus has adapted to new rules while staying true to his muay thai roots.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com